Getting back into your normal routine after a couple weeks away can be difficult. When you’ve got kids, this is an even harder shift back and forth! After all, you’ve probably been away in a different time zone where a lot of cultural norms are different too – if you’re not careful, being home again can give you the blues! But if you want to settle in as soon as possible, there are a few healthy tasks to get done during the first couple days you’re back.
Address Any Security Concerns
This should be your number one concern once you’re back home. How is the house? Is there any sign of trouble? If you set up cameras, did they catch anything? And what mail might you be missing that couldn’t fit through the letterbox?
Also, if you left a key with a neighbour, head over immediately and ask for it back, or call a locksmith if you dropped your spare somewhere whilst you were abroad. You never know who might have picked it up! And get the ball rolling now, as you might be too tired to remember later on!
Have Fun Dinners During the First Week
You’re settling back into your home routine again, and that means you need to be gentle with yourself. No jumping straight back into it – you need a small period of transition to mark the change. This’ll certainly help the kids get back into the school schedule after the summer.
That’s where ‘fun dinners’ come in. Eating outside around a firepit, setting down plates of easy-to-make finger foods for everyone to pick at; these are two great ways to make dinnertime a bit more fun and simple than usual as you adjust to homemade dinners at an appropriate time again.
Adjust Your Bedtime for Jet Lag
If you’ve been in a different timezone for a little while, you’re going to have to get used to being in your usual one once you’re back in your own house. And if you’ve never experienced that before, this is going to be one of the worst parts of the adjustment!
However, it’s easily beatable if you’re able to power your way through the tiredness that hits once you touch down on native soil again, and stay up until your normal bedtime. Keep yourself busy in the hours you’d usually be asleep on location by trying out new physical activities at home. Even just going for a walk can shake it off!
Don’t Touch Any Work Messages Until the Morning
Finally, the day you get back should be for you. So don’t touch your work phone or your work inbox until the morning after at the very earliest. You’re allowed a grace period where you’re just relaxing now you’ve got through the stress of an airport and the drive home!
Coming home from a holiday soon? Make it easier on your brain and body by adjusting slowly. Tips like these are great for young families!
